NC Gov. Stein asks for answers about Border Patrol in letter to DHS secretary

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein asked in a letter on Friday that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security give more information about “Charlotte’s Web,” the Border Patrol operation in the city.

“State and local officials have been left guessing about what may happen next despite the critical role our law enforcement agencies play in ensuring that residents stay safe, protests remain peaceful, and communities are not driven to panic amid uncertainty and fear,” the governor wrote in his two-and-a-half page letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

Among Stein’s questions: Where have people arrested been held? What policies are in place for areas where children are, like playgrounds and schools? And how long is the operation expected to last?

While local officials have said “Charlotte’s Web” is over, and while there appear to have been significantly fewer federal agent sightings since Wednesday, DHS has claimed its operation is not over in Charlotte.

The agency has said it has netted 370 people in the Charlotte area. It has released only 11 names. Agents also made arrests this week in the Triangle area.

Stein asked Noem to provide a comprehensive list of people arrested or detained and further details about those cases. He said he wrote to the secretary to share his alarm.

“We have seen reports of American citizens having their car windows broken, enforcement actions taking place within the vicinity of school drop-offs, and people being racially profiled by federal agents,” Stein wrote. “We have seen our friends, neighbors, and colleagues afraid to go about their daily lives.”

When news first broke that Border Patrol planned to come to Charlotte, Stein said the city would welcome agents “with open arms” if they targeted drug traffickers and violent criminals.

Even then, he appeared skeptical that agents would do that, and he soon after urged North Carolinians to document their behavior.

DHS did not say on Friday afternoon whether it would answer Stein’s questions.

Local officials, advocates urge community to stick together

Throughout a Friday press conference outside Manolo’s Bakery in east Charlotte, local politicians, activists and faith leaders said Charlotteans need to stick together even if Border Patrol has left.

“Our entrepreneurs and small businesses need support,” said City Council Member-elect Juan Diego “JD” Mazuera Arias, who will represent east Charlotte. “Our families need resources. Our children need safety and assurance.”

None of that will come from press conferences or statements, he said.

DHS, which oversees both ICE and Border Patrol, taunted Charlotte on its official X feed on Thursday afternoon.

“Dear Criminal Illegal Aliens: we are gone. It is safe to come out!” read the caption to a meme posted by the federal department.

Mazuera Arias noted that DHS said it was not done in the city. He said that while Charlotteans should not panic, they also cannot let their guard down.

Siembra NC co-director Kelly Morales said at Friday’s news conference that photographs and videos from drivers showed Border Patrol agents departing Charlotte, going down Interstate 85. Their command center at the Charlotte FBI office had also been taken down, she said.

That drew applause, but it was short-lived.

“It’s hard to call that any kind of victory when there are hundreds of our people most likely still in custody right now,” Morales said.

Friday’s press conference was often bleak as speakers described a community left afraid. A gray, cloudy sky hung overhead.

The owner of the bakery, Manuela “Manolo” Betancur, raised spirits near the end.

Betancur went to a Christian college when he was younger, he said, and had always been confused when people there said they had spoken to God.

But he said that he saw his late father in a recent dream, and his father told him that God had a message for him.

“God wants to let you know that he’s sending you an army of angels wearing regular jeans and regular shoes,” Betancur recalled his father saying in the dream.

He said he has found that army of angels in Charlotte, and it is the community.

Ryan Oehrli covers criminal justice in the Charlotte region for The Charlotte Observer. His work is produced with financial support from the nonprofit The Just Trust. The Observer maintains full editorial control of its journalism.

This story was originally published November 21, 2025 at 2:20 PM.

Ryan Oehrli

The Charlotte Observer

Ryan Oehrli writes about criminal justice for The Charlotte Observer. His reporting has delved into police misconduct, jail and prison deaths, the state’s pardon system and more. He was also part of a team of Pulitzer finalists who covered Hurricane Helene. A North Carolina native, he grew up in Beaufort County.